Instrument for presenting an object to be viewed

ABSTRACT

A device for presenting an article to be viewed, with an elongated support and means mounted thereon for holding and rotating the article. These means are actuated at distance and at will, without cutting the field of view.

Unite States Patet Potterat 1 June 6, 1972 [54] INSTRUMENT FOR PRESENTING AN OBJECT TO BE VIEWED [72] Inventor: Raymond-Gerard Potterat, 6, Avenue des [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 1, 1969 Switzerland v.13248/69 [52] U.S.Cl ..2l4/340, 269/156 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 7/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..214/340;294/21,l9;269/l04, 269/156 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,301,547 11/1942 Karbus ..2I4/340 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 678,964 9/1952 Great Britain ..294/21 Primary Examiner-Philip Arnold Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen ABSTRACT A device for presenting an article to be viewed, with an elongated support and means mounted thereon for holding and rotating the article. These means are actuated at distance and at will, without cutting the field of view 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures INSTRUMENT FOR PRESENTING AN OBJECT TO BE VIEWED This invention relates to a device for presenting an article to be viewed.

It is known to use pincers of a particular type to examine an article, in particular a diamond, held between the jaws of the pincers. A disadvantage of such pincers resides in the fact that they restrict the field of vision, in particular when it is desired to see the article from the side. On the other hand, if a diamond or other stone is being examined, it is not held sufficiently firmly between the jaws and risks becoming separated when the pincers are manipulated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device which overcomes these disadvantages and the device according to the invention is distinguished by the fact that it comprises an elongated support and means mounted on this support for holding the article and causing it to rotate at a distance and at will without obstructing the field of view.

The accompanying drawing illustrates an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partially cut away, of the device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view ofa detail of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the device of FIG. lv

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation ofa stone to be cut and adapted for the device of FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 ofa variant.

FIG. 6 is a view in elevation of a stone to be cut for support in this variant ofthe device.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 of an other variant of the device.

The device shown serves to present articles to be examined such as colored stones, pearls or any other raw or manufactured article such as horological movements, small balls, miniaturized circuits, optical lenses, biological tissue, wheels, etc.

This device comprises an elongated tubular support 1, slidably mounted on a second concentric tube 2 carrying a bracket 3 supporting a driving wheel 4 on an axle 5 and the purpose of which will be explained later.

At its end adjacent the bracket 3, the tube 1 carries an arm 6 in the shape of a curved hook at the extremity of which are mounted two freely rotating wheels 7 and 8 which are interchangeable. The driving wheel 4 and the two freely rotating wheels 7 and 8 constitute a means of support for holding an article to be examined at three points and for causing the article to rotate at will. The article to be examined is, in the example illustrated, a diamond 9. The arm 6 is moveably mounted against the bias ofa spring 10 which tends to thrust the wheels 7 and 8 resiliently against the diamond 9. This spring 10 is mounted inside the tube 1 and rests, at one end, on a plug 11 closing this tube, and at the other, on a stop 12 secured by a pin on a driving shaft 13, the tube 1 sliding on the inner tube 2. The arm 6 is removeably secured to a collar 14 screwed on the exterior tube 1. For this purpose the arm 6 has a machined part 15 engaging in a corresponding groove of the collar 14 and slotted at 16 in order to be able to slide on a securing screw 17.

A gear wheel 18 secured to the driving wheel 4 meshes at right angles with a gear wheel 19 secured to one end of the shaft 13. The other end of shaft 13 carries a driving knob 20. The gear wheels 18 and 19 could be replaced by bevel pinions, by a worm gear, by a friction drive, by rubber or plastic belts, by chains or by any other mechanical device means.

A push-button 21 secured to the tube 2 passes through an elongated opening provided in the tube 1. This push-button enables the article to be examined to be gripped or released with one hand by causing a relative displacement between the two tubes 1 and 2. The diamond 9 to be examined may thus be driven in the two directions by the manual rotation of the knob 20. The latter could be replaced by a milled part arranged along the tube 1 and driving the shaft 13 by a mechanical means.

The articles to be examined may, if necessary, be secured to separate supports, manufactured according to need.

The described instrument may be held in the hand, fixed to a microscope or else may be held by a support resting on a surface or secured thereto. It may be manufactured in different sizes and made from various materials such as, in particular, stainless steel, ordinary steel, brass, aluminum, etc.

The driving wheel 4 as well as the freely rotating wheels 7 and 8 may be made of different materials and in various shapes and sizes according to the articles to be examined. The number of the wheels could be increased at will.

On the other hand, instead of providing a spring 10 to clamp the article to be examined between the three wheels 4, 7 and 8, other mechanical means could be used, in particular clamping screw means.

In the variant shown in FIG. 5, the arm 6 of the previous embodiment has been replaced by an arm 6' of lesser size also carrying two freely rotating wheels 7, 8, the whole being arranged to receive a diamond as shown in FIG. 6. All the other parts of the embodiment of the FIGS. 1 to 4 are found again here.

The arms 6, 6' could be permanently secured, i.e., not be interchangeable. The number of driving wheels 4 could be increased and they could be driven by means of a universal joint device.

In FIG. 7 the same reference numerals designate the same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 3. The driving wheel 4, instead of being mounted below the shaft 13 as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is mounted above this shaft. This arrangement enables the room taken up by the instrument to be reduced and allows the driving wheel or wheels as well as the freely rotating wheel or wheels to be changed without being limited as to height and width. The gear wheel 18' secured to the wheel 4' meshes with a pinion 22 secured to the shaft 13.

A gear wheel 23 meshing with the pinion 22 projects above the upper part of the instrument and serves as a milled wheel which can be actuated by hand to cause the shaft 13 to rotate without using the knob 20. This milled wheel 23 as well as the wheel 4' with the gear wheel 18' are mounted in a bracket 24 secured to the end of the inner tube 2 similar to the bracket 3 in FIG. 1.

The described instrument allows diamonds of different sizes to be examined, for instance, with the naked eye, with a magnifying glass, with a microscope or by means of a photographic apparatus by causing them to rotate at a distance and at will without the instrument restricting the field of view.

I claim:

1. A device for supporting an article to be visibly examined, said device comprising an elongated support having opposite ends, a driving wheel mounted on one end of said support, a bracket slidably mounted on said support, two freely rotatable wheels mounted to said support for rotation about axes extending perpendicular to said support, said freely rotatable wheels facing said driving wheel for cooperating therewith to hold an article to be examined, said bracket being shaped to provide a space in which the article to be examined is completely exposed, in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said support, when held by the wheels, spring means acting between said bracket and support to urge said driving wheel and freely rotatable wheels into clamping engagement with the article to be examined, means on said support and externally engageable to permit axial displacement of the support relative to the bracket in opposition to said spring means, a rotatable drive shaft mounted in said elongated support, and drive means extending at right angles to said driving wheel and in engagement therewith for driving said driving wheel when the drive shaft is rotated to turn the article to be examined.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elongated support is tubular, said bracket including a stem concentrically slidable on said tubular support, said spring means being axially mounted within said stem and engaging said tubular support and stem.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising an external actuator member on said shaft for manually rotating said shaft.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said shaft extends beyond said support and said external actuator member comprises a knob on the shaft outside said support.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for axial displacement of the support relative to the bracket comprises a push button secured to said support and extending through an elongated slot provided in said stem.

6. A device as claimed in claim 2 comprising means separably connecting said bracket and stem.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving wheel is below said shaft. 

1. A device for supporting an article to be visibly examined, said device comprising an elongated support having opposite ends, a driving wheel mounted on one end of said support, a bracket slidably mounted on said support, two freely rotatable wheels mounted to said support for rotation about axes extending perpendicular to said support, said freely rotatable wheels facing said driving wheel for cooperating therewith to hold an article to be examined, said bracket being shaped to provide a space in which the article to be examined is completely exposed, in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said support, when held by the wheels, spring means acting between said bracket and support to urge said driving wheel and freely rotAtable wheels into clamping engagement with the article to be examined, means on said support and externally engageable to permit axial displacement of the support relative to the bracket in opposition to said spring means, a rotatable drive shaft mounted in said elongated support, and drive means extending at right angles to said driving wheel and in engagement therewith for driving said driving wheel when the drive shaft is rotated to turn the article to be examined.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elongated support is tubular, said bracket including a stem concentrically slidable on said tubular support, said spring means being axially mounted within said stem and engaging said tubular support and stem.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising an external actuator member on said shaft for manually rotating said shaft.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said shaft extends beyond said support and said external actuator member comprises a knob on the shaft outside said support.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for axial displacement of the support relative to the bracket comprises a push button secured to said support and extending through an elongated slot provided in said stem.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 2 comprising means separably connecting said bracket and stem.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving wheel is below said shaft.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving wheel is above said shaft.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving wheel and freely rotatable wheels lie in a common plane parallel to the axis of the elongated support.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bracket comprises a U-shaped arm, one end of which engages the support and the opposite end of which supports the freely rotatable wheels, said article to be examined being held within the confines of the U-shaped arm when held by said wheels. 